[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The GreatViews expressed here are not necessarily the views & opinions of ActivistChat.com. Comments are unmoderated. Abusive remarks may be deleted. ActivistChat.com retains the rights to all content/IP info in in this forum and may re-post content elsewhere.

Iran's President Ahmadinejad, a veteran of the Islamic Republic's repressive Revolutionary Guard, took office 3 August 2005, after a surprise win in a June sham presidential election -- there are no democratic elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran. All candidates are prescreened by the Guardian Council before they are allowed to run for office.

In practice, a president of Iran is already chosen through a farce process of giving the voters a chance to elect one of the men hand-picked from the regime's functionaries, as was the case with President Ahmadinejad.

No sooner did President Ahmadinejad emerge from obscurity and assumed his new role as the head of the Executive Branch of the Islamic regime in Iran than he unleashed a torrent of venomous rhetoric against the United States and Israel.

He proclaimed, "Israel must be wiped off the map," and that the Holocaust was a fabricated myth. He went a step farther and threatened Muslim leaders with consequences if they appeased Israel, "Any leader in the Islamic umma (community) who recognizes Israel faces the wrath of his own people."

His hateful rhetoric aside, President Ahmadinejad has reported on events that are terribly strange, to say the least: Behaviors and statements that raise serious questions about his mental state. During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September of 2005, for instance, he claimed to have been enveloped by a light that made the entire audience focused on him for the duration without anyone blinking.

More recently, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah was unable to move away, because of the strength of force emanated from Iran's president, so he contends. President Ahmadinejad's repeated claims to his special connection with the supernatural forces, specifically those of the Shiite theology, need to be scrutinized with added concerns.

Most recently, President Ahmadinejad has baffled the world by his 18-page letter addressed to President George W Bush. Lay people and experts alike are at a loss in their attempt to understand and decipher the significance, if any, of the letter -- a hodgepodge of religious, philosophical, historical and victimization phraseology that seem to bear very little relation to the present difficulties confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran on one side and the United States of America and much of the free world on the other.

The enigma is not hidden in the letter. It’s in the act of writing it. The mere sending of the letter--to the most powerful man on earth (President Bush) has epochal historical precedence.

In my view, President Ahmadinejad’s letter can be better understood when examined within his frame of mind and system of belief. The letter constitutes another exercise in a series of summons, invitations or ultimatums from a person who considers himself a spokesman for Islam to a wayward ruler...in this instance President Bush.

This approach dates back to Prophet Muhammad himself who first called upon the infidels to embrace his faith or face his violent wrath. President Ahmadinejad believes he is doing what the Prophet Mohammad commands him to do. He also revered point of emulation, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, also addressed a similar letter to another infidel, contemporary ruler, of his time; the former Secretary General of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. Khomeini suggested that Gorbachev embrace Islam.

The founder of Islam Muhammad has ordained; "Invite them to embrace Islam. If they refuse, then war upon them." Employing this practice, Islam subdued Persia and other parts of the world by the force of the sword. Perhaps Iran’s new presidential letter to President Bush follows the same strategy where he challenges him and the people of the United States to renounce the Christian faith and attain salvation by embracing Islam. "Will you not accept this invitation?" asks President Ahmadinejad in the letter.

President Bush has repeatedly called Islam a “religion of peace.” Has this mistaken idea emboldened Mr. Ahmadinejad? Has this acknowledgement by President Bush caused Iran's president to issue his summons?. Is history repeating itself? Is a summon of convert ideology a prelude to use of force, as has been the case in numerous Islamic conquests?

What makes matters terribly dangerous are the modern instruments of force and the willingness to use them. Centuries ago, the sword in the hand of the Islamists carved a huge empire. Now, with the weapons of mass destruction, the entire world is at peril.

If we dig a little deeper into the history books, we observe such an invitation was also sent (at the time considered to be a powerful man) the King of Kings, the Light of Aryans, Yazdgird the III, King of Persia. Perhaps that was the defining moment for Islam and its conquest of the world.

It is said nearly 1,400 years ago that Umar Ibn Al Khattab, the second of four Islamic Caliphs sent a letter to King Yazdgird III of Persia to commit Bei'at (Joining with caliph and accepting Islam.) Umar wrote, "Once upon a time your land ruled half the known world but what has it come down to now? Your troops are defeated on all fronts and your nation is bound to collapse. I offer you a way to rescue yourself. Start praying to Allah, a single union God, the only God who created everything in the universe. We bring you and the world his message. Worship, Allah the only true God."

If we replace King Yazdgird III, with President Bush, Persia with the United States, and Persians with United States citizens, and the signature of Umar with Ahmadinejad, the new president of the Islamic Republic, the outcome could look horrific.

But there was also King Yazdgird III response to Umar. Mentally replace Yazdgird's name with President Bush and Ahura Mazda with Jesus Christ, and then you'll get the picture:

"In the name of Ahura Mazda, creator of Life and Intelligence:
You, in your letter wrote that you want to direct us towards your God, Allah without having the true knowledge of who we are and who we worship. It is amazing that you occupy the position of Caliph (Ruler) of Arabs, yet your knowledge is the same as a lowly Arab rambler, roaming in deserts of Arabia, and the same as a desert tribal man!

"You suggest we worship a united and single God without knowing that for thousands of years Persians have worshiped the mono God and they pray to him five times a day!

"When we established the tradition of hospitality and good deeds in the world and we waved the flag of Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds, in our hands, you and your ancestors were roaming the deserts, eating lizards, for you had nothing else to feed yourselves and burying your innocent daughters alive." (An old Arab tradition, because they preferred male children to female)

"You behead God's children, even the prisoners of war, rape women, attack the caravans, mass murder, kidnap people's wives and steal their property! Your hearts are made of stone; we condemn all these evils which you do. How can you teach us Godly Ways when you commit these actions”?

"Is it Allah who commands you to murder, pillage and to destroy? Is it you the followers of Allah who do this in his name? Or is it both”?

”Tell us. With all your military campaigns, barbarianism, murder and pillage in the name of Allah O Akbar, what have you taught to this Muslim Army? What knowledge have you taught the Muslims that you also insist on teaching it to non-Muslims? What cultures have you learned from your Allah, now that you want to force teach it to others?"

"I beg you to remain with your Allah O Akbar in your deserts and do not move close to our civilized cities, for your beliefs are 'much fearful' and your behavior is 'Most Barbaric'!"

Thus the war began and the Arab army under its ruthless commander, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas approached. The Persian Army was defeated in the decisive “Battle of Qadisiyah”. Rostam Farokhzad, the courageous Iranian general was murdered and Yazdgird's last attempt to gather forces to counter attack fell short, hence Islam's defining moment was born.

The Arabs had come to convert the Persians by hook or by crook. "La ilah ilallah Mohammed ur Rasulallah" (There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his Prophet.)

Those who resisted uttering those words were faced with death or burdened with heavy taxes and other unjust punishments.

It is the belief in the same 'Allah' that brought upon the Iranian people the greatest catastrophe of the Islamic revolution. This is also the same belief that brought the twin towers down in the United States of America.

This belief in this Allah will not stop until the entire world bows to its will.

Will America follow Persia? In many ways, America resembles the great, ancient Persian Empire. Like the ancient Persian Empire once was, the United States is now the greatest government in the world. Like the Persians who were the first world managers and the most tolerant empire-builders, America, with its rich constitution, is also the most tolerant and benevolent nation in the world.

Ancient Persian kings released the Jews from Babylonian captivity, financed the reestablishment of their nation, and restored their national religion. (Zionists, they were!) The United States has basically done the same. The United States is the reincarnation of Persia, an extension of the Achaemenid Empire.

Tyrannical Islam eviscerated the spiritual life of tolerant old Persia. Is history going to repeat itself? It has taken decades for the Persians (modern Iranians) to recover their spirit. Zoroastrianism, the original Iranian religion, was not an effective barrier against the radical religion from the Arabian Desert.

Is Christianity going to withstand Islam on its second rush of world conquest?

The United States as it stands for democracy is the last haven of hope for which humanity can flourish. Today, after 1,400 years, Islam is again the greatest threat to the existence of the free world and the civilization of Christianity. Persians underestimated the destructive power of Islam; let us hope and pray that the United States does NOT underestimate the destructive power of Islam the second time.

Amil Imani is an Iranian-born American Citizen and pro- democracy activist living in the United States of America. Imani is a columnist, literary translator, poet, and novelist, who speaks out for the struggling people of his native land, Iran. His website is www.amilimani.com

Noting the fact that the American President historicly represents all Americans by elected office, he can't exactly embrace Islam on behalf of the whole country, being that America is a melting pot of many cultures and beliefs, including Islam.

It would be unconstitutional for the president to even think about doing it , or with any other religion, or none at all for that matter.

I find it interesting that the Soviet mindset was that Democracy was in ultimate decline, and the IRI poster child parrots the concept in his letter.

The irony of hypocracy knows no limits, when one reads the claim to ethical correctness at the same time the IRI is rounding up Bah'ai and Sufi to persecute them for practicing their belief in peace. Nor hold tradition and history in highest honor by destroying the historical sites of Persia.
Israel was recognized as a state 2500 years ago by Cyrus the Great, monkey boy fails even to recognize the history of the nation he is posing as president of.

President Bush has repeatedly called Islam a “religion of peace.”
(While calling for the end of extremism within the Muslim umma. As a perverted interpretation of Islam...12th Imman cult mentality "hijacked" the name of that religion, and put a curse upon it.)

Has this mistaken idea emboldened Mr. Ahmadinejad?

(Claiming to be a man of peace while declaring war is an old tradition)

Has this acknowledgement by President Bush caused Iran's president to issue his summons?.

(Almost five years after Bush stated it the first time? Probably not. I see it as following a path his "divine guidance" has led him to in his own mind...delusions of grandure and all spewing forth in apocalyptic rhetoric.)

The world is captivated by the sudden rise of a relatively unknown to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran, for his torrent of outrageous statements and claims. He has, thus, in a short time acquired great many appellations. He is viewed as zealot, fascist, fanatic, anti-Semitic, lunatic and more.

One prominent Western columnist called him “unhinged.” All these labels aim, in part, to dismiss the man as an aberration. As someone who is in urgent need of psychological help, a person out of touch with reality who represents nothing of substance.

Once again the West is misreading and misjudging the people and the events in the Middle East, due to the fact that it views things through its own prism. Looking at the man through the Western spectacles, he indeed appears to be all of the above and more. Yet Ahmadinejad is far from unhinged. As a matter of fact he is firmly hinged to a set of beliefs that dictate his views of the world and how he should deal with it from his position of power. An unhinged has the potential of being hinged. But, there is very little that can be done to a person who is inseparably hinged. Ahmadinejad’s views are firmly rooted in the most orthodox philosophy of Shiism.

To understand Ahmadinejad’s mind set and behavior requires a close scrutiny of the elaborate and intricate theology of Hujetieh Shiism – perhaps the most fundamentalist of numerous Shiite sects.

For our purposes, however, it is sufficient to document the fact that Ahmadinejad is not unhinged. “Unhinged” is a derogatory term for a mentally disturbed. A prominent feature of a mentally disturbed is the display of contradictory thoughts and behavior. Ahmadinejad’s words, deeds and beliefs show a fully hinged person. He is, to perception of many, may be hinged to a dangerous and faulty hinge. Yet he is hinged.

There is a full internal consistency in Ahmadinejad. Below are a few examples of his sayings, beliefs and actions. Whether one agrees or disagrees with them, they all fit perfectly into a consistent pattern.

* He literally believes in the imminent emergence of the Mahdi – the Shiites promised one who is expected to appear to set aright a decadent and wretched world.

* He views himself as the vassal of Mahdi, working for him and being accountable to him.

* His main task is to prepare the world so to hasten the Mahdi’s coming. If this preparation requires much destruction and bloodshed, so be it.

* As a former mayor of Tehran, he developed elaborate detail plans preparing the city for the arrival of the Mahdi.

* He allocated generous sums for extensive road improvement to a mosque at Jamkaaraan near the city of Qum where it is believed the promised Mahdi is hiding in a well since the age of nine over 1100 years ago.

* He reportedly visits the well frequently and drops his written supplications into the well for the hidden Mahdi to act upon them.

* He has said in private that it was him who asked the Mahdi to inflict the massive stroke on Ariel Sharon.

* He sees the Jews as the sworn enemies of Islam. The hostility dates back to the time of Muhammad’s own treatment of the Jews in Medina. At first, expediently, Muhammad called the Jews “people of the book,” and accorded them a measure of tolerance until he gained enough power to unleash his devastating wrath on them.

* He says that the Holocaust is a myth. He is, in this respect, in good company with a number of other revisionist claimants.

* He wants Israel to be wiped out of the map or transferred to Europe.

* In his speech at the UN general assembly, he implored the Mahdi to come and save the world. He claimed that during his speech of some twenty odd minutes, a powerful light enveloped him and all participants were held transfixed unable to move their eyes.

* He believes that the earth is Allah’s and all people must either become believers of his brand of Islam or must perish as infidels najis (unclean) who by their very presence defile Allah’s earth.

* He believes that this earthly life is passing and worthless in comparison to the afterlife awaiting a devoted and faithful believer. Hence, he holds to the old belief that if a faithful kills and infidel, he goes to Allah’s paradise; and, if the faithful gets killed in the process of serving the faith, again he goes to Allah’s paradise. Hence, it is a win-win proposition for the faithful.

There is nothing “unhinged” about Ahamadinejad’s thinking, statements and actions. They are internally consistent. He is simply a fanatic who is wedded to an extremely dangerous exclusionary system of belief. Humanity must learn that dismissing a fanatic as lunatic or unhinged rather than squarely facing the likes of Ahmadinejad and Hitler will result in great suffering. And in the age of Weapons of Mass Destruction a man with huge sums of petrodollar can indeed serve as the catalyst of total annihilation. It is by far more prudent to err on the side of being an alarmist than a complacent dismissive. Humanity cannot afford to ignore the emergence of the final thereat to its very existence on this planet.

Contrary to the commonly thought, Islam is not a religion of peace. “Islam” is derived from the root word, “Taslim,” which means “submission,” or “surrender.” Submission or surrender to whom? To Allah,’s will through the dictates of his one and only emissary Muhammad as recorded in the Quran and the Hadith. Muslims believe that every word of the Quran is the word of Allah and no one ever should doubt, revise or dispute it.

The Arabic word for peace is “solh,” and not “Islam.” It is amusing how Western apologists of Islam from the ranks of liberals and expedient politicians keep on parroting the slogan that Islam is religion of peace. When they are challenged to explain the horrific violence perpetrated under the banner of Islam, their lame response is that the religion of peace is hijacked by a small minority of religious zealots. These same liberals and politicians seem to prefer being politically correct than truthful. Even a cursory glance of history, recorded by authoritative Muslim historians, reveals conclusively that Islam was a creed of cruel violence from its very inception. Being intolerant, violent and warring characterize Muhammad’s own life and much of his teaching.

Ahmadinejad is a true devoted Muslim. Being unpredictable, self-contradictory and inconsistent are major symptoms of the mentally unhinged. By these standards of insanity, Ahmadinejad emerges as complete sane. He is fully predictable, consistent and has shown no self-contradiction. He does not even pretend that he misspoke or apologizes for his outrageous statements. He is not a typical politician who practices the devious art of doublespeak, deception and change of position to suit him. He knows who he is, what he believes, what he holds as veritable truth and what his own mission in life is – serving as the instrument for the revered Mahdi whom Allah shall make him emerge from the well as soon as the world’s conditions hit the absolute hopeless bottom. Ahmadinejad sees himself as a driver who can play a critical role in doing just that – driving the world to the very bottom.

Also, “Sanity” has a major cultural dimension to it. Behaviors considered sane by one group may be viewed as completely insane by another. Exorcism, for instance, is believed as the cure for the mentally-possessed by its practitioners. The medical community, on the other hand, considers the practice itself as a form of mental derangement.

Contrary to what we would like, “Rationality” is not the ruler and gatekeeper of the mind. Emotions, fantasies and other components of the mind can cloudy, fool and even over-rule rationality. Furthermore, starting with a set of premises, a most outlandish conclusion can be rationally reached. For instance, if one assumes that the all-powerful Mahdi resides in the bottom of the well, then petitioning him for all manner of things is fully a rational thing to do. It is the least effortful way of aiming to secure all kinds of valuables by simply dropping a request list into the well. What harm is there in it, so the person reasons. Who knows, the Mahdi may be in a mood of granting his requests – or at least some of them.

Tragically, Ahmadinejad is not a single solitary “unhinged.” He is the embodiment of several million people who are hinged exactly like him and are willing to give their life, and take as many lives as required in the service of their belief.

Ahamadinejad and his ilk are not interested in any negotiation, any compromise or live and let live. They are determined to be the soldiers of Mahdi come-what-may. They have no problem with the total destruction of the world. They are headed for a life of eternal bliss in Allah’s paradise. They hardly care, even rejoice, if the rest of humanity is subjected to a tragic death in the nuclear, biological and chemical wasteland of planet earth.

And Allah, repeatedly in the Quran, exhorts the faithful submissive, the Muslim, to maim, punish and kill the non-submissive – the non-Muslim – and promises him the reward of admission into paradise.

Amil Imani is an Iranian-born American Citizen and pro- democracy activist living in the United States of America. Imani is a columnist, literary translator, poet, and novelist, who speaks out for the struggling people of his native land, Iran. His website is www.amilimani.com

wow! You hit the nail right on the head. I almost wish he was "unhinged" because at least there would be a way to help him. But being as he is, nothing could stop him from believing what he believes. He is a very sick man but he made himself sick._________________You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior...but everyday I hear people crying for one. -Superman
To liberate the Muslim from his religion is the best service that one can render him. -Earnest Renan